Members Present Justice Mary Muehlen Maring, Chair Judge DeNae Kautzmann Cory Pedersen, Juvenile Court Director Judge John McClintock Judge Steven McCullough via telephone Kathryn Rand, Dean UND Law School via telephone Jean Lindvig, Electronic Court Recorder via telephone Judge Sonna Anderson
Members Absent Judge David Reich
Guests Present Larry Zubke, Director of I.T.
Staff Present Lee Ann Barnhardt, Director of Education and Communication Lana Zimmerman, scribe
Justice Maring called the meeting to order. A motion was made by Judge Kautzmann to
approve the September 16, 2011, minutes. The motion was seconded by Judge McClintock,
motion carried.
Old Business
I. Law School Curriculum and Mission: A motion was made by Judge McClintock to
approve the UND Law School Curriculum and Mission. The motion was seconded by
Judge Kautzmann, motion carried.
II. Conference Updates - Ms. Barnhardt updated the Commission on the progress of the
following conferences:
A. The Traffic Safety Seminar is scheduled February 15-16, 2012, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck. Registration has been distributed to Municipal Judges, city prosecutors, state’s
attorneys, defense attorneys, and hearing officers. The training provided through
partnership with the ND Department of Transportation.
B. The Leadership Institute for Faculty Development is scheduled March 27-29, 2012, at the
ND State Capitol. Kathy Story will facilitate. There are 28 participants registered.
C. The Clerks of Court Conference is scheduled May 16-18, 2012, at the Holiday Inn in
Fargo. The agenda will include sessions on leadership and bias, court rules, appellate
procedure and Odyssey.
D. The Court Recorders Seminar is scheduled June 14-15, 2012, at the Radisson Hotel in
Bismarck. Margie Wakeman will be presenting the first portion of the conference. The
second portion of the conference will cover North Dakota Court procedure.
E. The 4th Amendment Seminar is scheduled June 29, 2012, at the Seven Seas Hotel in
Mandan. This seminar is grant funded through the Bureau of Criminal Investigation
specifically, Internet Crimes against Children’s Task Force. Tom Clancy out of the
University of Mississippi Law School is the primary faculty. Digital evidence, use of
technology, and 4th amendment issues related to digital evidence will be covered. This
seminar will be offered to District Court Judges, Supreme Court Justices, Federal Judges
and Tribal Court Judges.
F. The Children’s Justice Symposium is scheduled July 24-26, 2012. This symposium is
offered every other year. Pete Tunseth from UND and Lee Ann Barnhardt have been
securing faculty for this conference. Two major themes include educational stability,
and engaging families in particular, engaging non-custodial fathers. The Symposium is
funded by a Court Improvement Grant and is co-sponsored by the Children and Family
Services Department of the Department of Human Services.
III. Trial Court Bench Book - Judge Reich sent an update stating the Trial Court mini-bench
book sub-committee has decided to create outlines and checklists for a number of the sections of
the bench book that could be used on the bench or accessed on-line. There still are some
materials and outlines that need to be reviewed and edited, which should take place after the
beginning of the new year.
Judge Geiger has proceeded with the revisions to the current Trial Court Bench Book, which will
be completed by February.
IV. CJE Credit Compliance - All District Court Judges, Referees, Supreme Court Justices,
Juvenile Court Officers, Municipal Court Judges and Surrogate Court Judges are current on the
CJE Credit Compliance Report for this reporting period.
New Business
I. Ms. Barnhardt reported the June 2012 Judicial Conference and SBAND Annual Meeting will
be held in Grand Forks. She is working with the Department of Human Services to present a
session related to child abuse and neglect hearings for the CJE portion for Judicial Conference.
Due to having an additional ½ hour for Judicial Conference, the Commission was asked for
suggestions to fill the time. It was suggested to contact Staff Attorney Jim Ganje to discuss
changes to the Code of Judicial Conduct.
II. A new 5-year Strategic Plan is due for the Judicial Branch Education Commission. The
planning meeting will take place on March 2, 2012, from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the BSC
National Energy Center of Excellence.
III. Ms. Barnhardt discussed technology needs for Judicial Branch Education. She has been
working with Justice Crothers on his personal I-Pad for educational presentations and is
proposing to include the purchase of an I-Pad in the educational budget. Larry Zubke, IT
Director stated the I-Pads are a wave of the future. He also stated that he has attended meetings
at the state government levels to observe what agencies are utilizing. The Department of
Transportation and ITD have endorsed the I-Pad, however they need to be extremely secure as to
not expose confidential information. There are some ways to wipe the data off the device if lost
or stolen. This is something he strongly encourages if this Commission decides to go forward
with the purchase of the I-Pad. Ms. Barnhardt stated that they will only be used as educational
purposes for conferences and no confidential information will be stored on the I-Pad. A motion
was made by Judge McCullough to purchase an I-Pad for educational purposes in the next
biennium educational budget. The motion was seconded by Judge Anderson, motion
carried.
IV. 2012 meeting dates for the Judicial Branch Education Commission are as follows:
March 29, 2012 - Bismarck June 1, 2012 - Bismarck September 14, 2012 - Bismarck December 14, 2012 - Bismarck.
V. Lana Zimmerman provided a brief orientation of the Enterprise Learning Management.